The Twilight TwentyFive Submissions
by faeriegal713
Summary: My Submissions for The Twilight Twenty-Five contest. Drabbles are exactly 100 words in length, one-shots are anything longer. Check out all the submissions and writers by going to http : // community . livejournal . com / thetwilight25
1. Mirror Shattered Illusions

_The Twilight Twenty-Five  
Prompt: Mirror  
Pen name: faeriegal713  
Pairing: Jasper implied  
Rating: PG-13_

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The shattered glass littered the floor, thousands of surfaces reflecting light and color. He envied the shards: Unknowing, unthinking, _unfeeling_. He would have given anything to not feel, not absorb.

_I gave nothing. He gave everything_.

But he felt all of it. He was forced to suffer until he no longer knew what was his and what was theirs. Never with a moment to recover, always feeling more and more, until feeling was all, and he was nothing. Like the slivers beneath his feet.

Only he was still feeling.

_It's too much._

He never felt the splinters pierce his skin.

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**A/N - In a moment of not thinking straight I signed up for The Twilight Twenty-Five one shot and drabble contest. Expect twenty-four more one shot type things to be posted over the next 2 1/2 months.**

**This is a drabble - exactly 100 words. I'd be interested to hear your interpretations of it.**

**Thank you to the lovely betas over at Project Team Beta for taking a few moments of time to look this over and help with grammar and word suggestions.**


	2. Raindrops The Anniversary

The Twilight Twenty-Five  
Prompt: Raindrops  
Pen name: faeriegal713  
Pairing: Edward/Bella, Renesmee  
Rating: PG

Edward knew something had been bothering his wife for the last few days, and it irritated him that she wouldn't share it with him. He couldn't tell her that of course, else she would take it as a failing on her part. He just wished that she would realize that by not telling him what was wrong, she was helping him to fail in his part.

He had been with his wife long enough to know not to push her to tell him what was going on. She would come to him when she was ready. Usually. That didn't mean that he wasn't going to fret about it in the mean time.

"Papa, what's wrong?" Renesmee asked, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Nothing," catching the dark look on her face he back pedaled. "I'm just worried about your mom. She's been, ah, distant the last few days."

"I've noticed that too. She's been spending a lot of time out by the lake. I tried to talk to her earlier, but she just shooed me away." The young woman didn't seem as upset about being treated like a child as she should have been. After forty some odd years of the same behavior, she had learned when to pick her battles. When her mom was already upset about something was not the best time to argue with her over some something so mundane.

"Thank you, Nessie." He went to ruffle her hair, but pulled his hand back after she ducked away from him.

"Aunt Alice spent forty-five minutes on it, she'd murder you if you messed it up now."

Edward's eyebrow rose, asking his question much more elegantly than any words.

_She was trying to cheer me up. It's been five years._ She had reached forward, the tips of her fingers barely brushing his cheek, and she showed him a flash of hundreds of images, all featuring one man who, regardless of his age, was instantly recognizable as Charlie Swan. Every memory seemed to be colored gray with grief despite the fact that the colors were still bright and vibrant.

"Oh, Nessie, I'm so sorry," he pulled her into a hug, mindful of her hair, and felt her head nod against his shoulder. As much as Bella was hurting, their daughter would be feeling it too. Charlie Swan was the first person she had ever known personally to have passed away, and Edward knew that she sometimes felt guilty for living while just about everyone else in the world was slowly dying.

"It's okay, Papa." And she really meant it too, she would be okay, and though she was sad now, it was only because she missed her grandpa. "Mom took down all the calendars in the house last month. She didn't want any extra reminders around."

"That does sound like your mother," Edward said ruefully while some small part of him wondered at the fact that he hadn't realized there were no calendars in the house. He pushed Renesmee been five me up. egantly than he could ever have managed on his onwim. out to an arm's length away so that he could take a good look at her. Though her eyes were rimmed with red and her cheeks a bit ruddy, she really did look fine. "I'm going to go find her and try to talk to her, and if I know Alice at all, she has a therapeutic shopping trip planned for you."

She laughed, "That's what Alice sent me down here to tell you. I thought it was silly, but now I think she knew you weren't paying any attention."

"It would appear that your aunt is as infallible as ever." Despite his light tone, the tension around his eyes had not lessened. Now that he knew what was wrong and where his wife was hiding, every moment that he was not doing something to help her was increasing his anxiety. He wanted to be there for his daughter as well, but she had so many more people to support her. Bella was close with all of the family, but there were some things about her they just couldn't seem to understand. One of them was why she would much rather suffer in silence than say that anything was bothering her. Even Esme, who could write the book on patience, never fully understood that part of Bella. Edward knew more about suffering in silence than just about anyone else alive. It was one of their common 'martyr' traits, he supposed.

"Good luck, Papa," Renesmee told him before giving him a kiss on his cheek and disappearing out the front door.

He stared after her for only moments before his feet were carrying him through the sprawling living room, dining room, and out the back door in the kitchen. His body was moving on auto-pilot, his destination a place he traveled frequently; thus, leaving his mind to wander.

Why had he not realized the significance of this day earlier? How had he not caught whispers of it in the idle thoughts of his family, whether Alice's visions, or Jasper's ruminations on Bella's fluctuating moods? Was he so focused on himself and his own priorities that he failed his wife at a time when she needed his support the most? And why would she try to hide this from him in the first place? Had he not proven to her that he was always there for her, always ready to hold her up and hold the world and all its troubles at bay while she recovered her own footing? What good was he as a man and husband if his own wife would not turn to him?

His mind continued to spiral into more and more depressing and accusatory thoughts before he finally approached the lake where his wife was reported to be. He slowed from his frantic pace to a slow walk, wanting to give her time to hear him approaching.

It was only a few moments before he saw her sitting on a fallen tree at the water's edge. Her back was to him, her long brown hair was being blown about by the wind, giving her still form a sense of movement. He wasn't sure if she had heard him arrive, and so continued his same, slow walk, though he wanted nothing more than to race to her side and pull her close to him. If she needed to be alone right now, she would let him know, and though it would pain him, he would acquiesce to her wish.

A deep rumbling sound startled him, forcing his thoughts to his surroundings. The trees were moving with the wind as well, their rich green color leeched by the ominous gray of the sky and lake before him. The rumbling was growing louder, and it was only after a diffused flash of light from high in the dark clouds that he realized it was thunder. It seemed to be a signal the sky was waiting for to release its moisture to the earth, and the unsteady cadence of rain falling on leaves and rock met his ears. It also seemed to be the signal Bella had been waiting on, for her face turned up to the sky, and something resembling a sigh escaped her lips.

She did not acknowledge his presence until he was at her side, unsure of what to do next. "It almost makes me feel like I'm crying," she said, only her mouth moving.

His eyebrows drew together as he tried to piece together her cryptic words, and it took him actually seeing her before he thought he understood. For the rain, which was still half-heartedly falling, had left trails of moisture on her cheeks, giving her the appearance of freshly fallen tears. Even as he watched, another drop fell on the corner of her closed eye, adding further to the illusion that she truly was crying.

"It hurts, to know that I can't even cry for him. He deserves tears, Edward." Her words were shaky and broken as she spoke past the emotions that had no other outlet. "At least the sky is able to cry for him. That's better, right? To have the entire sky cry for you rather than one, small person?"

Edward put his arms around her shoulders, her head automatically rested on his shoulder, and he held her while she broke down. She may not have been able to cry herself, but it seemed with every shaking sob, the rain fell a little harder until it was so thick that he could hardly see to the other end of the lake. They were soaked, but neither moved from their lakeside perch for hours. Finally, her immortal body appeared to have been wrung out, and she clung to him, limp and seemingly unable to move even a single centimeter. He tenderly nudged her chin so she would look up at him rather than the ground.

"I think Charlie is probably thinking that tears, no matter where they come from, are silly when they scare away the fish," Edward said with a wry smile that grew wider when his horrible sense of humor was acknowledged by a snort and a punch in his ribs.

"You. Are. A. Horrible. Person. Edward. Cullen." She punctuated each word with a finger jab into his sternum. But she was smiling, and that was all that he cared about. "Thank you." She kissed him then, and they didn't leave the lake side until the day full of so many sad memories was merely another rain-filled yesterday.

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**A/N Aye, another The Twilight Twenty-Five one-shot down, only twenty-three more to go. I'm not sure how I'm going to make it either, but who knows, right? Huge props to PTB for giving this the twice (three or four times) over. The ladies there are awesome and if you should ever need any help with your own stories, that's your first place to go. :-) Reviews are lovely little things if you should desire to share your thoughts.**

**Ah, one last thing, there's a new contest which I'm not eligible for, but several of you readers may be, so go check them out. **http : // theindietwificawards . com / rulesschedule . aspx


	3. Stagnant Howls

**The Twilight Twenty-Five**  
**Prompt:** Stagnant  
**Pen name:** faeriegal713  
**Pairing:** Jacob  
**Rating:** PG

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Howls.

They wake me from my dreams.

Heart racing, head pounding, breathing impossible.

An echo calling, begging for my attention.

Deep within me something rouses.

Ghost limbs stretch, testing my arms and legs.

I am not afraid.

When Elders speak of the Old Ways,

That something inside stirs,

A whimper, a howl.

Not to be heard in the waking world.

Sometimes, when the nights are clear, and the moon shines bright,

The wind carries a lone wolf's cry.

A call. A plea. A reminder.

Never forget the beast.

The beast inside.

Ready to fight when nightmares hunt.

Never to wake.

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**A/N Aye, yet another The Twilight Twenty-Five submission. If I continue at this rate, I'll get about half of the prompts done. *sigh* more writing to super duper thank yous to LightStarDusting for taking a look at this. She's writing for The Twilight Twenty-Five too, and she has written some pretty darn good stories, check her out! (ETA - I forgot to save the version that included my thank you to LSD for betaing *facepalm*)  
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**One of my upcoming plot bunnies will require a change in the rating of this story. There will be additional warnings posted prior to it, but I'm warning you now that at least one of my prompts may insinuate rape, violence and attempted murder. Like I said, additional warnings will be given before hand.**

**On that happy note, (sarcasm intended) please have a wonderful day/night!  
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